Michigan

Lions notes: Vikings' Peterson 'runs angry'

DETROIT -- In their first meeting this season, the Detroit Lions gave up 111 rushing yards to Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.

While Peterson topped the 100-yard mark, the Lions actually had a solid performance against him. Peterson didn't have a single carry for more than 13 yards and the Lions forced a couple of fumbles. The 0-12 Lions will need to corral Peterson again if they hope to upset the 7-5 Minnesota Vikings, who are 10-point favorites in the game.

"The mind-set is that you've got to tackle this back. Every snap, every play, this guy can go the distance on you," Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. "You've got to be on the screws when you're playing this guy. He might be the best player in the league right now."

The key to Detroit's "success" against Peterson in the first meeting was something the Lions haven't displayed much all season -- good tackling.

"We tackled well, we really did," Marinelli said. "We got some single tackles on him, which is really hard to get. I mean, there aren't a lot of guys who can single-handedly drop him. There were two or three times when he had a chance and we came up and tackled him. But it's got to be gang-tackling on every down (today)."

Peterson is leading the NFL in rushing with 1,311 yards, is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and has scored nine touchdowns. Peterson needs one more 100-yard game this season to give him eight, tying him with the club record held by Robert Smith (2001). In his two-year career, Peterson already has rushed for 100 yards in the first half of a game seven times.

"I thought (the Lions) had a good defensive plan and they executed their plan," Vikings coach Brad Childress said. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to move the ball around and we didn't do as good a job executing ours, and that's what it usually comes down to. We didn't do a very good job of taking care of the football, either."

Peterson fumbled twice in Minnesota's 12-10 win against the Lions on Oct. 12, but Peterson said those were his fault.

"It's really something I look at myself, to be honest," Peterson said. "Knowing it during the game and then looking at it on film and confirming it, I kind of caught myself being careless with the ball. I've definitely stepped that up and, if anything, it's going to be a great effort by those guys to get the ball out again. It definitely won't be because I'm being careless with the ball."

Lions defensive tackle Cory Redding said the key to stopping Peterson is getting to him before he gets his legs churning.

"Against him, I believe you've got to meet him in the backfield, you can't meet him on your side of the line because he's already established full speed and momentum and he has the quickness and the moves to make you miss," Redding said. "I believe you've got to get penetration and play him on his side of the line of scrimmage, and as long as we do that, I think we'll have a good day."

"They played some solid football, they did a good job, I must say," Peterson said of his first meeting with Detroit this season. "We started off slow. As far as their defense, they did a good job in containing the run. But we came out with the win and that's what matters."

Marinelli is reminding his defensive players that one mistake in the one-gap system can be lethal against Peterson.

"He runs angry on every down and you've got to tackle this guy. You've got to get as many hats on this guy as you can get and we understand that," he said. "The one thing is that his vision is really good. If you watch (film) on this guy and you'll see one guy spin out of a gap or one guy not quite close a gap on the backside and he finds it. And he hits it fast."

"Anybody who plays defense knows that when you're playing No. 28, you'd better bring your big-boy pads because he's coming downhill and he's not stopping," Redding said. "If you're the first one to the ball, you'd better get him down. If not, he's going to run you over. That's what I see on tape. I respect the young fella because he runs hard and he brings it every Sunday. You have to respect that and go out there and hit him as much as you can and take it to him."

Lions notes
• Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte has thrown eight touchdown passes of 20 or more yards, which ranks third in the NFL. Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, who the Lions will see in two weeks, is No. 1 with 11. In his two stints with the Vikings (he also was with the team in 2003), Frerotte is 9-3 as a starter.

• Frerotte has thrown two long touchdown passes to receiver Bernard Berrian -- a 99-yarder against the Chicago Bears last week and an 86-yarder against the Lions in the first meeting. Both of those passes happened when the Vikings were struggling and turned the game around momentum-wise and led to Minnesota victories. It was the 11th time in NFL history that a pass play has gone for 99 yards.

• Since losing to the 0-12 Lions in 2001, the Vikings have won 12 of the past 13 meetings between the teams. ... The Lions have not scored more than 20 points in the past seven meetings (and 10 of the past 11). ... The Vikings have swept the Lions six times since the 2000 season. ... Vikings running back Chester Taylor has 21 catches on third down, which is tops among NFL running backs. ... The Vikings are 6-0 in the past three years when Taylor rushes for 100 yards or more (Minnesota is 8-5 when Peterson tops the 100-yard mark).